The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) officially opened its new liaison office in Shenzhen, China, on August 22.

Located in the heart of Shenzhen’s Shuibei area, renowned as China’s major centre for the fabrication and wholesale of gold and platinum products, the liaison office is a satellite to WPIC’s main operation in China, which is run out of its Shanghai office. It is shared with four of WPIC’s partners – Guandong Gold Association’s Platinum Committee, LPM Group, Quanfeng Platinum and Yueheng Jewellery. 

“Our goal is to stimulate investment demand for platinum, and increasing the availability of product options across the region is an important part of achieving this. We believe that having a physical presence on the ground in Shenzhen, given its unique position as the country’s most important gold and platinum hub, is an important next step for the WPIC in China.

"It demonstrates our long-term commitment to strengthening our relationships with existing partners here, as well as enabling us to develop new ones more easily,” WPIC Asia-Pacific regional head Weibin Deng said.

The WPIC Shenzhen liaison office incorporates a showroom for platinum investment products, as well as meeting rooms and offices. The products on display include platinum bullion bars and coins fabricated by WPIC partners. 

The showroom will be open to the public, who are free to explore the platinum investment products on display and to learn more about the platinum market and the WPIC. Although platinum products will not be sold on site, potential investors can be directed to the relevant partner for further discussions. 

The WPIC’s expansion in China follows on the back of the success of Shanghai Platinum Week, which it co-founded in 2021. Shanghai Platinum Week, which is co-organised by the WPIC, is now a regular fixture for the platinum group metals industry in the second week of July each year.

This year it was attended by more than 1 000 delegates from over 400 organisations, with about 180 000 people watching online.

Planning for 2024 is already well under way, and the event will take place from July 8 to 12.